SA’s fastest man to compete at his own star-packed Pretoria meet
Akani Simbine will juggle duties as athlete and meeting director while competing against top international sprinters at the inaugural Simbine Classic.
Though he says he is ready to fire on the track, Akani Simbine admits he has had to do some juggling between his commitments as an athlete and his responsibilities as the meeting director ahead of the inaugural Simbine Classic in Pretoria today.
The Citizen reports the competition starts at 15:45 and, in a unique situation, Simbine will compete in the men’s 100m race at his own meeting, as the founder of the first World Athletics Continental Tour Silver event to be held in South Africa.
“I’m still working out how I’m going to be able to get to the track,” Simbine, who was gearing up for his first race of the season, joked yesterday.
“But this is a race day for me. As much as I am the meeting director, I’ve got a great team that’s working behind the scenes and they will make sure everything runs the way it needs to run.”
Strong 100m field assembled
The SA record holder will need to hit his straps in a 100m field which also includes seven-time Olympic medallist Andre de Grasse of Canada, who showed impressive early-season form by clocking 9.95 (100m) and 19.84 (200m) at the Golden Grand Prix in Botswana on Sunday.
Stacked line-ups have also been announced across the other 12 disciplines on the main programme of the meeting, which is offering R1.46m, a record prize purse for a track and field meeting in South Africa.
Middle-distance and field events draw global stars
In the men’s 300m race, Olympic bronze medallist Muzala Samukonga of Zambia and local favourite Zakithi Nene are expected to be locked in a tight battle, with both athletes having run under 44 seconds in their careers over the 400m distance.
Other global stars who will be turning out include former Olympic silver medallist Ferguson Rotich of Kenya (men’s 800m) and African long jump record holder Luvo Manyonga.
Women’s events promise high-quality contests
Among the women, the 100m hurdles contest should be a cracker, with former world champion and Olympic silver medallist Nia Ali of the US entering the blocks against another Olympic silver medallist Cyrena Samba-Mayela of France.
Croatian athlete Sara Kolak, who won Olympic gold in Rio in 2016, spearheads the javelin throw entry list, and former world indoor 800m champion Prudence Sekgodiso will compete in the 1 500m race.
Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel.
Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal.
